Guns don't kill people; Americans do

Apparently, it will take more than the point-blank murders of 20 first-graders to convince some congressional Republicans that the nation must take a more sensible approach to gun control.

Many conservatives acknowledged in the wake of the Dec. 14 slaughter at Newtown, Conn., that there have to be restrictions on access to semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. Others, however, dug in and repeated the same old rhetoric that has helped to make so much of America a free-fire zone. The problem isn't guns, they say, but mental illness.

"We recognize those very demented, awkward people commit those crimes. We need to do a better job treating and looking at and finding people who have these problems. That's the issue. We have millions and millions of guns. Guns aren't the problem; sick people are," said Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas.

"There are just evil people in the world. There's nothing you're going to do to prevent evil from occurring," said Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina.

Easy access to weapons

Ms. Foxx and Mr. Sessions are correct. There are mentally ill people in the world and there is evil in the world. But the thing that distinguishes the United States from the rest of the world is that we allow easy access to deadly weapons regardless of whether people are mentally ill or bent on committing evil acts.

A study of firearm deaths in the United States and 23 high-income countries that have more restrictive firearms laws, published in 2011 by the Journal of Trauma, made it plain:

The American homicide rate was 6.9 times higher than aggregate rates for the other countries, primarily because the firearm homicide rate was 19.5 times higher. For 15-year-olds to 24-year-olds, the firearm homicide rate in the United States was 42.7 times higher; for U.S. males, the rate was 22 times higher; for U.S. females, the rate was 11.4 times higher. The U.S. firearm suicide rate was 5.8 times higher even though the overall suicide rate was 30 percent lower. Accidental firearm deaths were 5.2 times higher. Among the countries studied, 80 percent of all firearm deaths occurred in the United States; 86 percent of women killed by firearms were American, as were 87 percent of children up to 14 killed by firearms.

All of the countries studied have citizens afflicted with mental illnesses. Those nations, recognizing that it is impossible to recognize in advance when someone will commit violence, reduce deadly violence by controlling guns.

The guns-for-all crowd needs a new slogan: "Guns don't kill people; Americans do." It is a national disgrace.

Much can be done

Fortunately, many pro-gun Republicans and Democrats recognize that much can be done to reduce the carnage without jeopardizing the right to bear arms.

President Obama has empaneled a commission to make recommendations by January, but some improvements already are obvious:

n Re-establish the ban on assault-style weapons that Congress allowed to lapse in 2004.

n Ban high-capacity magazines.

n Require background checks of people who purchase guns at gun shows.

n Outlaw gun purchases over the Internet.

n Penalize states that do not quickly turn over to federal authorizes their data bases on mentally ill residents, to make background checks more effective.

n Require reporting of lost or stolen guns to deter illegal sales.

n Limit gun purchases to one per person per month to deter sales to criminals who can't obtain weapons on their own.

Mental health is indeed an issue. To improve screening and treatment, many of the same politicians who oppose gun control will have to stop slashing funding for mental health programs.

The new health care law, which many of those same politicians also oppose, mandates coverage for mental illnesses by 2014. That alone could help.

No one believes there is any cure-all. But the United States clearly has to change its gun culture, which will reduce the carnage.

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